Frederick Banta served in Company E of the 44th Indiana Infantry, a 3 year regiment, that fought at Shiloh (where his older brother Warren was killed) and other engagements including Stone's River, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. He returned to Indiana, married Martha Collins in 1867, fathered a son, Fermer in 1868, migrated to Washington Territory, and fathered two children, Dollie and William W., before moving to California before the 1880 census which found them in Georgetown, El Dorado County. Soon thereafter they moved to Fresno where Fred was a founding member of Post 92 of the Grand Army of the Republic in Fresno, California in November, 1885. He was elected Post Commander for 1886. Among the issues the Post faced over the next dozen years was the burial of Union veterans. On more than a dozen occasions the minutes of Post 92 report that Fred Banta was the individual responsible for securing the Plot of land now called Veteran's Liberty Cemetery on West Belmont for the use of Union Veterans. He was also instrumental in procuring and erecting headstones from the War Department for Veterans who could not afford a costly civilian marker. His work in this regard has never before been acknowledged.
Fred's first wife Martha Collins and youngest child, William W., apparently died at Georgetown. In 1886 he married Ada M. Wiley, the daughter of Ruben and Martha Wiley. In 1900 Fred was living in Fresno and working as a gold miner, not a house carpenter, his previous line of work. Shortly thereafter they separated and Fred moved to Washington State where he was employed as a joiner at the US Navy Yard. In 1921 he moved to Los Angeles and on April 28, 1926 was admitted to the "Old Soldier's Home" at Sawtelle. On June 10 he was hospitalized at the Naval Hospital in San Diego. He died there of chronic myocarditis on July 16, 1926. Two days later he was buried in the GAR plot within Section J of Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, California
Bio Courtesy of Dr. David Davenport
Fred's first wife Martha Collins and youngest child, William W., apparently died at Georgetown. In 1886 he married Ada M. Wiley, the daughter of Ruben and Martha Wiley. In 1900 Fred was living in Fresno and working as a gold miner, not a house carpenter, his previous line of work. Shortly thereafter they separated and Fred moved to Washington State where he was employed as a joiner at the US Navy Yard. In 1921 he moved to Los Angeles and on April 28, 1926 was admitted to the "Old Soldier's Home" at Sawtelle. On June 10 he was hospitalized at the Naval Hospital in San Diego. He died there of chronic myocarditis on July 16, 1926. Two days later he was buried in the GAR plot within Section J of Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, California
Bio Courtesy of Dr. David Davenport
Frederick Banta served in Company E of the 44th Indiana Infantry, a 3 year regiment, that fought at Shiloh (where his older brother Warren was killed) and other engagements including Stone's River, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. He returned to Indiana, married Martha Collins in 1867, fathered a son, Fermer in 1868, migrated to Washington Territory, and fathered two children, Dollie and William W., before moving to California before the 1880 census which found them in Georgetown, El Dorado County. Soon thereafter they moved to Fresno where Fred was a founding member of Post 92 of the Grand Army of the Republic in Fresno, California in November, 1885. He was elected Post Commander for 1886. Among the issues the Post faced over the next dozen years was the burial of Union veterans. On more than a dozen occasions the minutes of Post 92 report that Fred Banta was the individual responsible for securing the Plot of land now called Veteran's Liberty Cemetery on West Belmont for the use of Union Veterans. He was also instrumental in procuring and erecting headstones from the War Department for Veterans who could not afford a costly civilian marker. His work in this regard has never before been acknowledged.
Fred's first wife Martha Collins and youngest child, William W., apparently died at Georgetown. In 1886 he married Ada M. Wiley, the daughter of Ruben and Martha Wiley. In 1900 Fred was living in Fresno and working as a gold miner, not a house carpenter, his previous line of work. Shortly thereafter they separated and Fred moved to Washington State where he was employed as a joiner at the US Navy Yard. In 1921 he moved to Los Angeles and on April 28, 1926 was admitted to the "Old Soldier's Home" at Sawtelle. On June 10 he was hospitalized at the Naval Hospital in San Diego. He died there of chronic myocarditis on July 16, 1926. Two days later he was buried in the GAR plot within Section J of Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, California
Bio Courtesy of Dr. David Davenport
Fred's first wife Martha Collins and youngest child, William W., apparently died at Georgetown. In 1886 he married Ada M. Wiley, the daughter of Ruben and Martha Wiley. In 1900 Fred was living in Fresno and working as a gold miner, not a house carpenter, his previous line of work. Shortly thereafter they separated and Fred moved to Washington State where he was employed as a joiner at the US Navy Yard. In 1921 he moved to Los Angeles and on April 28, 1926 was admitted to the "Old Soldier's Home" at Sawtelle. On June 10 he was hospitalized at the Naval Hospital in San Diego. He died there of chronic myocarditis on July 16, 1926. Two days later he was buried in the GAR plot within Section J of Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, California
Bio Courtesy of Dr. David Davenport
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